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Book Review: Magnus Chase and The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

Dec 8, 2016

Magnus Chase and The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan

Pages: 512
Publish date: 4th October 2016
Publisher: Penguin Teen Australia
ISBN: 0141342552
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Thor’s hammer is missing again. The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon – the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn’t just lost, it has fallen into enemy hands. If Magnus Chase and his friends can’t retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenceless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin.

The Nine Worlds will burn. Unfortunately, the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer’s return is the gods’ worst enemy, Loki – and the price he wants is very high.

Magnus Chase and The Hammer of Thor:

This review will have spoilers from the previous book Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer.

I received a copy of Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan from Penguin Teen Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

When I pick up and Rick Riordan book I know that I am going to like it. It was just as hilarious, nail biting and adventurous as The Sword of Summer.

The Hammer of Thor continues to follow Magnus Chase son of Frey who is still coming to terms that he is an einherjar. Magnus’ life before these books was tough, and his life after death isn’t any better.

Someone has stolen Thor’s hammer…again. And who better to try and retrieve it than Magnus Chase and his squad. The hammer wasn’t just taken by anyone, it’s fallen into enemy hands. And if Magnus and his friends can’t retrieve it, well Ragnarok will begin and everything will be destroyed.

I don’t think there was anything that I didn’t like about The Hammer of Thor. It’s one of those books that makes you laugh at 1am, bit your nails and nearly bring you to tears. It’s everything that you want in a book, wrapped into one. The Hammer of Thor not only showcases the characters that we already know and love, but introduce us to more that you cannot help, but fall in love with.

Magnus is just as amazing as he was in The Sword of Summer. He is witty, fun and most of the time his a dork. But, that is why I love him. He has this compassion about him, and maybe that is also one of his faults. He cares, too much sometimes. And he will stop at nothing to help his friends.

Sam, oh my heart breaks for her. I liked her in the first book, but I grew to love her in The Hammer of Thor. I adored that she never wanted to give up on her beliefs, what she has grown up to believe – even when she is living in a world which goes against everything. Sam goes through some tough things in this book and I want everything to work out for her – because she totally deserves it.

Alex Fierro a shape-shifting child of Loki is introduced to the reader when Sam brings Alex to Valhalla. At first, Alex is hard to get along with, Alex is rude and simply doesn’t want to be there. But as the story goes on, we find out why and it’s totally understandable. Alex is also gender–fluid who identifies with he/she depending on the day. I love that Riordan was able to include someone who is gender-fluid, you don’t see it much in YA and it’s needed. It’s needed for those who want to understand who they are and might not know how. I love how Alex was so open and blunt about it. It was great to see.

The banter between the group was fantastic putting a massive smile on my face. Although Magnus, Sam and Alex all have different personalities, they all meshed together well.

Throughout The Hammer of Thor, we are going on a journey to find Thor’s hammer, but like most Riordan’s book, it’s not that simple. Our character sometimes are taken where we don’t expect. It might not work in other books, but the diversions work so well here.

Another thing that I loved about The Hammer of Thor was the diversity. I think it’s something that Riordan does so well. It’s nice to see different races, religions, sexualities and gender identifications and disabilities represented in a young adult novel. We are seeing it more and more, but we need it to be so that we don’t go looking for it.

Overall, The Hammer of Thor is an engaging hilarious novel that takes you on a journey that you never want to leave. It’s about friendship, family, and finding out who you are. It’s nail-biting, entertaining and one for everyone, plus with that last line – I am in need of the final book.

Have you read Magnus Chase the Hammer of Thor? Did you love it as much as me? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat.

Book Review: Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins

Dec 2, 2016

Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins

Pages: 338
Publish date: October 6th 2015
Publisher: Month9Books
ASIN: B01228EY3G
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US

Four clans have been at war for centuries: the Kodiak, the Raven, the Wolf, and the Ram. Through brutal war tactics, the Ram have dominated the region, inflicting death and destruction on their neighbours.

Seventeen-year-old Zo is a Wolf and a healer who volunteers to infiltrate the Ram as a spy on behalf of the allied clans. She offers herself as a Ram slave, joining the people who are called the Nameless. Hers is a suicide mission—Zo’s despair after losing her parents in a Ram raid has left her seeking both revenge and an end to her own misery.

But after her younger sister follows her into Rams Gate, Zo must find a way to survive her dangerous mission and keep her sister safe. What she doesn’t expect to find is the friendship of a young Ram whose life she saves, the confusing feelings she develops for a Ram soldier, and an underground Nameless insurrection. Zo learns that revenge, loyalty, and love are more complicated than she ever imagined.

Nameless:

I received a copy of Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins from Month9Books for review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I hadn’t heard of this series or the author before I read Nick’s review a couple of months ago. The idea of the world was immediately captivating. And nonetheless, I trust Nick as we both have similar tastes in books.

Nameless follows protagonist Zo a Wolf and Healer who volunteers to infiltrate the Ram as a spy undercover. She has to become a slave and join the people that hate her kind. Her clan has put all their trust in her, and she wants revenge. However, unfortunately things don’t go to plan.

When she is at the Ram gate, Zo’s younger sister appears and now they are both putting their lives on the life. When Zo saves a young Ram’s life, she is marked as a healer. And with her growing feelings for a Ram solider, things are not going the way that she has planned. Not only is Zo loyal she is fierce and strong. I loved the fight that she had.

Zo was an intriguing protagonist. She had this strength about her that I admired. A love for her siblings and even essentially her clan. She has given up her life for revenge and not many people can do that – mind you a seventeen-year-old. When everyone around her hates her and marks her Nameless, Zo finds the strength to pull through.

Nameless has the basic revenge story. However, the world that Jennifer Jenkins has built is quite unique. The reader is on the edge of their seat through the whole story. We don’t know what is going to happen next if anyone is going to find out.

The world building of Nameless was exceptional. The reader is able to find things about the world throughout the story and there isn’t info dump. Which can sometimes happen with fantasy books. Nevertheless, the world was slowly built, and throughout the story layers upon layers were formed.

All the characters in Nameless are excellent. Everyone one is unique and engaging from the get go. I felt myself falling love with everyone. Gryphon was by far, the most enthralling. The reader doesn’t know too much about him at the start. We are not too sure where he stands and what he believes in. And as the story unfolds, so does he. Gryphon becomes close to Zo throughout Nameless and although it starts as this hate relationship, I love that it turns into something more.

I also love Gryphon’s relationship with Joshua. He cares so much for him and Gryphon only wants him to be strong. Joshua was the comic relief and he was needed. He was so beautiful and charming that I could not help but love him. However, Gryphon didn’t baby Joshua and instead taught him to be strong.

The romance was one of my favourite parts of Nameless. It was the beautiful slow-burning kind, which swept me away. Nevertheless, it was forbidden, swoony and left me wanting more.

Overall, Nameless pleasantly surprised me. Nameless explores friendships, family and believing in yourself. It’s about letting a name define you, and not letting your prejudice get in the way. The combination of a fascinating world, captivating characters and a brilliant plot, makes Nameless a must read for fantasy lovers.

Have you read Nameless? Did you like it? Are you planning to read it? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Something In Between by Melissa De La Cruz

Nov 25, 2016

Something In Between by Melissa De La Cruz

Pages: 432
Publish date: September 2016
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1489211012
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Jasmine de los Santos has always done what’s expected of her. Pretty and popular, she’s studied hard, made her Filipino immigrant parents proud, and is ready to reap the rewards in the form of a full college scholarship.

And then everything shatters. A national scholar award invitation compels her parents to reveal the truth: their visas expired years ago. Her entire family is illegal. That means no scholarships, maybe no college at all, and the very real threat of deportation. But Jasmine won’t give up. Because when the rules you lived by no longer apply, the only thing to do is make up your own.

Something in Between:

I received a review copy of Something in Between my Melissa De La Cruz in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Before Something in Between, I hadn’t read a Melissa De La Crux novel before, I am not sure why they just never seemed to catch my eye. But, the whole concept of Something in Between did. Something in Between is very important for the YA readership and something that I am interested in, that I love to read about.

Something in Between follows Jasmine de los Santos who is pretty, popular and hella smart. Jasmine has always done what was expected of her. She worked so hard that, she is offered a national scholar award that will allow her to have a full college scholarship. Unfortunately, she finds out that her family isn’t legal in the US anymore and everything shatters.

I have a like/dislike relationship with Jasmine. For most of Something in Between we totally got along. She was an easy character to get along with, and her emotions are punch-worthy at times. When Jasmine hurt, I did too. I felt her angry and disappointment in her family and I would have felt the same. When you have worked tremendously hard and then you get told, it all might be for nothing – it’s heartbreaking.

However, there were times where Jasmine sounded too young for her age or the stereotypical teenager. It was weird actually – sometimes she was acting like a young adult and then she was a teen. It was a strong contrast and was hard to get around. What I also loved about Jasmine was that Melissa De La Cruz moved away from the stereotype of the cheerleader being a bitch and dumb. It was one of the highlights from Something in Between.

I also have a love/hate relationship with Jasmine’s family. There is no doubt that they loved Jasmine. The interactions between the Jasmine and her parents was really nice to see. However, I don’t understand why her parents left them illegal for such a long time. Not even that, they kept on pushing Jasmine to do well, when they knew that she would never be able to go to college if they didn’t become legal. It was absolutely frustrating.

The friendships in Something in Between are a little lopsided. Jasmine had some very good friendships with her cheer group and other students from her school. They stood by her, helped her when she needed them and were just plain nice. Yet, there were times where her friendships were on the line. Nevertheless, it was realistic. Melissa De La Cruz is excellent at representing girls’ friendships and the way that they interaction with one another.

I enjoyed the romance side of Something in Between. There was a slight ‘love at first sight’ element to it, but it started off as a friendship and then grew into something more. Royce was a nice guy, and I couldn’t find many faults about him. However, there was something major hindering me from loving this romance – no communication. At times there was no communication between Jasmine and Royce, they didn’t talk about what was wrong and that lead to them not talking or breaking up. Which was frustrating. I want to see a book where the romances does not cause drama, where there is no breaking up. I did, however, like that the romance didn’t take over the novel.

The plot was one of the main reasons why I enjoyed Something in Between. Illegal Immigrants aren’t talked about much in books, especially YA. It was a great insight into all this in the US. It as interesting to read about and discover.

Overall, I enjoyed Something in Between. It’s a book about family, friendship and love. It’s about finding yourself and standing up for what you believe in. With a beautiful and heartbreaking concept, Something in Between takes you on a journey that is very real and very important.

Have you read Something in Between? Did you like it? Are you going to read it? Have you read anything else by Melissa De La Cruz. Let’s Chat! I have also started to make new graphics, do you like them?